This invention relates generally to exercising devices, and more particularly to a novel multi-purpose exercising apparatus.
In the field of exercising, the prior art has provided a multitude of single purpose devices, each of which is designed to afford the user a single desired exercise, e.g. rowing or cycling. However, it has long been recognized that to improve and/or maintain one's physical fitness, it is desirable to exercise various muscles of the body, which usually requires various types of exercises and exercising devices.
In recent years, a number of multi-purpose exercising devices have been developed, such by rearranging parts and/or by adding and removing parts, the devices can be made to afford the user a number of different exercises which are suitable for attaining and maintaining complete physical fitness.
A recent development which has achieved some success, is called a convertible rowing exercising apparatus and is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,071.
Briefly stated, the aforesaid apparatus is basically a rowing machine which also includes a padded bench member adapted to be mounted at the front end of the device, generally perpendicular to the horizontal frame of the rowing machine, whereby when the assembly is tilted or rotated 90.degree. to cause the bench member to be in a horizontal position and the frame of the rowing machine to be in a generally vertical position, the same rowing arms or levers can be utilized to perform exercises different from rowing, and which are referred to generally as bench press, military press, curls and squats.
One serious disadvantage of the aforesaid convertible rowing exercising apparatus is that because of its weight and arrangement, it is difficult for a person of limited strength or agility, to tilt or rotate the apparatus between the rowing position and the bench press position.
Another serious disadvantage of the aforesaid convertible rowing exercising apparatus is that the tilting of the device between the two positions can cause injury to the person handling it, and can cause damage to adjacent objects such as furniture.
And, because it was necessary to limit the weight of the apparatus in order to permit it to be tilted or rotated, it is not as rugged or strong as might be desired by large and/or powerful users.
With the aforegoing limitations and deficiencies of known devices in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel multi-purpose exercising apparatus which can be utilized for performing substantially all known types of exercises without requiring the machine to be physically moved from one position to another, e.g. by tilting or rotating. More particularly, it is an object to provide an exercising apparatus which can be utilized for performing the conventional rowing exercise as well as squats, curls, bench presses and military presses without endangering the safety of the user or causing damage to adjacent objects. Specifically, it is an object to provide such an exercising apparatus which can easily and quickly be converted from a rowing-type device to a bench-type device for performing other exercises such as the aforesaid squats, curls, bench presses and military presses.
Another object is to provide a novel multi-purpose exercising apparatus which can be made as strong and as heavy as required to accommodate users of various sizes, weight, agility and strength, without considering the necessity of making the device of a limited size or weight whereby it can be rotated or tilted.
A further object is to provide such a novel multi-purpose exercising apparatus which includes a relatively limited number of parts, which is strong and durable, and which is easy to operate by even the most inexperienced user.
We have discovered that the foregoing objects and advantages are achieved by providing releasable attachment means at the pivotally mounted ends of the lever members on the base frame of a rowing-type exerciser; providing a vertically-extending column member adjacent the foremost end of the frame of the rowing-type exerciser; and providing like releasable attachment means on the column member at a predetermined height above the base frame . . . whereby the pivotally mounted ends of the lever members are selectively movable between the frame and the column member to provide two distinct exercising positions. An elongate body support member is also provided for mounting on the base frame in alignment with the rowing seat to provide a surface upon which the user can stand or lie when the lever members are pivotally mounted on the column member.